Competitive with Entry Level Equipment?

[jasonbarron]

So, I gather that this game can technically be played with bargain basement equipment, but I'm specifically wondering about the online competition aspect of the sim. I ordered an R9 wheelbase and SR-P loadcell pedals, so solidly into the "entry level" division of driving equipment. Particularly the pedals, which were all I could currently afford. I should be getting them in a couple weeks.

My question is: assuming I'm a consistent, safe driver with some prerequisite skill and willingness to put in the work, is entry level equipment good enough to actually be competitive with multiplayer, or am I going to be gimped in that regard until I upgrade to better pedals and wheelbase?

[FaultyJawa]

I use an R9 and SRPs. Definitely not entry level (I'd consider Logitech G series stuff entry level). The R9/SRP combo is more than enough, and work great for almost every sim out there.

Whether or not you are competitive mainly comes down to you, not the equipment. Just make sure to set up the FFB correctly, and go have fun.

You can be competitive in open lobbies by simply keeping the car on the track the entire race. Last night I had a race where I messed up both my quali laps, started from the back, and finished in 3rd just by virtue of staying consistent and not losing the car.

My lap times generally fall in the "midfield" to "tail ender" by LFM standards, so I'm definitely not the fastest out there. Just go race and be safe. You'll get better naturally over time.

[Mauro]

Originally posted by jasonbarron:

So, I gather that this game can technically be played with bargain basement equipment, but I'm specifically wondering about the online competition aspect of the sim. I ordered an R9 wheelbase and SR-P loadcell pedals, so solidly into the "entry level" division of driving equipment. Particularly the pedals, which were all I could currently afford. I should be getting them in a couple weeks.

My question is: assuming I'm a consistent, safe driver with some prerequisite skill and willingness to put in the work, is entry level equipment good enough to actually be competitive with multiplayer, or am I going to be gimped in that regard until I upgrade to better pedals and wheelbase?

If you are not competitive with R9 and load cells pedals, then it does not come from the equipment ....
Moza R9 and loadcell pedals are not actually entry level (even if the SR-P pedals are not the best), entry level is a belt driven base + non loadcell pedals ...

[jasonbarron]

Point taken, guys. I'm new to racing and racing equipment, but I fully recognize that it's ultimately on the driver in the seat. I was mainly just curious if "high end" gear imparted a major advantage.

[Wazi]

FaultyJawa pretty much explained it. Your setup isn't entry, just make sure to install it properly (Stability is important, depending on your desk/chair setup, cockpit might be worth picking up later). R9 and the pedals are definitely good enough. Have fun learning all the tracks, cars and playing around with the configuration settings.

[EF_Neo1st]

Originally posted by jasonbarron:

So, I gather that this game can technically be played with bargain basement equipment, but I'm specifically wondering about the online competition aspect of the sim. I ordered an R9 wheelbase and SR-P loadcell pedals, so solidly into the "entry level" division of driving equipment. Particularly the pedals, which were all I could currently afford. I should be getting them in a couple weeks.

My question is: assuming I'm a consistent, safe driver with some prerequisite skill and willingness to put in the work, is entry level equipment good enough to actually be competitive with multiplayer, or am I going to be gimped in that regard until I upgrade to better pedals and wheelbase?

This is me with a G29 on a table and pedals on carpet and using a 32'' Samsung TV driving a Default safe setup with minimal adjustments (tyres pressure to be 26.5psi while racing, lower brake bias and engine map 1):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9btYeHY-n0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zjX2uDKlGE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2jKagBEhAs
It is way more about your skills than your equipment and aliens can be way faster than me with just a G29.

[FaultyJawa]

Originally posted by jasonbarron:

Point taken, guys. I'm new to racing and racing equipment, but I fully recognize that it's ultimately on the driver in the seat. I was mainly just curious if "high end" gear imparted a major advantage.

All good, we were all there at one point. :)

It's easy to overthink it and get really hung up on being as prepared as possible. But honestly, as someone who did a TON of overthinking like this at the start of my journey, the best advice I can give is - just go do it and make sure you're having fun. The rest will come with time and repetition.

What high end gear will give you is more force in the wheel and *maybe* some more subtleties in FFB response for things that you wouldn't feel in lower end equipment. But the R9 is killer for the price, and you're not gonna miss much by not getting, say, an R12 or R21. In fact, I've talked to people with the R21, and they've said they feel like it's almost "too much" in terms of force and response.

[jellobiafra]

I play with the gamepad, that works too. :-)
But I also have a logitech driving force gt standing around here.
Would that still work? I haven't tried it with the game yet.

[goblueteam]

The equipment you got is very nice and will not hold you back in any way.

If you really want to speed up the process find some coaching or a AI coaching tool it will help you develop faster and with decent technique.

My problem is I just raced for like 2000 hours and have a lot of bad habits now that I kind of have to try and stop doing while learning the proper way. so its twice as hard.

I tried a AI coach thing and it really just helped me sort of see exactly what and where I needed to improve.
You basically do a couple laps it grabs the telemetry data and compares it to there reference lap.
And more or less tells you every where you were slower and why and starts out telling you about the corner your losing the most time.

I did this on donington park I was losing .6 in the chicane compared to there alien reference lap lol.
I managed to cut about .35 off of it and improved in other areas as well and went from a 1.27.2 to 26.5 in 10-15 laps.

I was stuck for hours at 27.2 before that.

[jasonbarron]

Originally posted by goblueteam:

The equipment you got is very nice and will not hold you back in any way.

If you really want to speed up the process find some coaching or a AI coaching tool it will help you develop faster and with decent technique.

My problem is I just raced for like 2000 hours and have a lot of bad habits now that I kind of have to try and stop doing while learning the proper way. so its twice as hard.

I tried a AI coach thing and it really just helped me sort of see exactly what and where I needed to improve.
You basically do a couple laps it grabs the telemetry data and compares it to there reference lap.
And more or less tells you every where you were slower and why and starts out telling you about the corner your losing the most time.

I did this on donington park I was losing .6 in the chicane compared to there alien reference lap lol.
I managed to cut about .35 off of it and improved in other areas as well and went from a 1.27.2 to 26.5 in 10-15 laps.

I was stuck for hours at 27.2 before that.

Can you please point me in the direction of the tool you're using? I'll check it out.

[EF_Neo1st]

Originally posted by jasonbarron:

Originally posted by goblueteam:

The equipment you got is very nice and will not hold you back in any way.

If you really want to speed up the process find some coaching or a AI coaching tool it will help you develop faster and with decent technique.

My problem is I just raced for like 2000 hours and have a lot of bad habits now that I kind of have to try and stop doing while learning the proper way. so its twice as hard.

I tried a AI coach thing and it really just helped me sort of see exactly what and where I needed to improve.
You basically do a couple laps it grabs the telemetry data and compares it to there reference lap.
And more or less tells you every where you were slower and why and starts out telling you about the corner your losing the most time.

I did this on donington park I was losing .6 in the chicane compared to there alien reference lap lol.
I managed to cut about .35 off of it and improved in other areas as well and went from a 1.27.2 to 26.5 in 10-15 laps.

I was stuck for hours at 27.2 before that.

Can you please point me in the direction of the tool you're using? I'll check it out.

You dont need any.
Pay attention to the ingame hud, it shows if you gain or lose time each tick of a second, so if hee gained 0.6s through the chicane he knew the time he was doing and the game shown to him the -0.60s green after the chicane meaning he gained 0.6s there.

You can also pay attention to your speeds through turns, on turn exits ot in the middle of straights if you have cues for that, so you can compare that too and see if you are being able to carry more speed into, through and out of the turn or if your entry speed is killing your turn through or turn exit speeds (a chicane you wantt to exit "the chicane" faster, sometimes getting slower to second or 3rd turn of a chicane allow a faster chicane exit but other than that you want to exit the turn faster than what you got into the turn).

[nono782]

And of course these AI tools are not free, business is business.

[FaultyJawa]

I would argue the AI coach would be good for when you're trying to chase down smaller increments, but for just starting out, you'll be better off just focusing on fundamentals like braking points, throttle control, where to have your eyes on the track, and overall just getting used to how the equipment interacts with the game.

That's not to say it isn't useful. But for just starting out, you're already going to be dealing with an onslaught of information as it is. Take time checking videos on YouTube - Jardier and Driver61 have some really good info for beginners, and will help you learn concepts and racecraft that you can start working to implement right away.

Edit - Also, don't go crazy getting hung up on setups for right now. Default safe setups are a good enough place to start, and over time you'll learn what tweaks work best for your driving style. I (and others here) use slightly modified safe setups, and I can consistently place in the top 5 in open lobbies.

And, not that it needed to be said, but don't start off by focusing on winning. Focus on surviving learning and improving. Keep the car on track consistently, and the rest will come naturally.

[UFO Reality]

Most serious competitive sports people will eventually use equipment that is not entry level grade. Motorsports always is about having an edge over the rest.

[nono782]

Originally posted by UFO Reality:

Most serious competitive sports people will eventually use equipment that is not entry level grade. Motorsports always is about having an edge over the rest.

If they can afford it, great for them.
But they would do the same results with normal equipment.

[goblueteam]

I actually just got done making a youtube video about the AI Tool I used.
It has a free membership that includes 50 laps per month all I did was log in with my discord and download and install the desktop APP nothing else no other information needed.

If you want more laps you would need a paid membership what I did is practice till your hitting good laps then turn it on for 2-3 laps to record you data.

Doing that you can get a few tracks a month done for free. Unlimited laps is like 6$ a month it also just has more data and tools/perks.

Hopefully my video is not to horrible I really have only done race replays before. I just really thought this helped me out and it was free with no hassle so I wanted people to know about it,
https://youtu.be/Mi3OPz92YB8

I think everyone can actually have fun with this and learn something about there own driving its a very simple intuitive format.
And its also based on your own lap data so its personalized. It also can help you notice bad habits like I noticed with my braking.
A free chance to compare your self to top drivers is just really great to have as well,

The lap I was comparing my data with was a 1:25.012 possibly the fastest lap recorded at Donington Park done by Max Wojtyna.

So its not the same as comparing to your own lap time its telling you what your doing differently and wrong when compared fast alien pace driver.

When you see you have multiple +.3 and +.4 corners its really eye opening.

Just so everyone knows I dont have any sort of association with this website I was just really impressed.